Certain medical treatments and patient recovery procedures involve chest drainage container systems for maintaining a patient's pleural space at a predetermined subatmospheric pressure and for withdrawing and collecting certain excess body fluids (e.g., pleural fluid, serous fluid, blood, lymphatic fluid or chyle, pus, etc.) from within the pleural space or from within other areas of the chest cavity. A typical system includes a catheter or chest tube connecting the pleural space, or other chosen chest cavity site, in fluid communication with a sealed container held at a specified subatmospheric pressure. The suction pressure within the chest drainage container draws fluids from within the chest cavity, through the chest tube and into the container.
Exemplary chest drainage containers and related components are disclosed in Teleflex's U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,749,592; 6,447,491; 6,338,728; 6,368,311; Des. 430,286; 5,989,234; and 5,507,734; all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Additional chest drainage containers and related components are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,686,801; 7,232,105; 7,028,707; 6,902,550; 6,358,218; 6,250,482; 6,210,383; 5,807,358; 5,722,964; Re 35,225; 5,401,262; 5,397,299; 5,286,262; Des 340,285; 5,154,712; 5,141,504; Des 328,790; 5,114,416 and 4,988,342; all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
State-of-the-art chest drainage containers have three main sections, a suction regulator, a fluidic seal and a body fluid collection chamber. The suction regulator provides means for adjusting and regulating the container's suction pressure. Known example suction regulators include a manometer that limits suction pressure by releasing atmospheric air into the container as needed, a dry mechanical pressure relief valve that breaks or limits vacuum when the drainage container reaches a predetermined lower suction pressure, and a controller that controls the operation of a vacuum pump connected to the container.
The fluidic seal, sometimes known as a “water seal” or “one-way valve,” is usually situated between the suction regulator and the collection chamber. The fluidic seal helps prevent direct entry of atmospheric air from the suction regulator into the body fluid collection chamber. Some fluidic seals include a bubble indicator for detecting an air leak that might exist somewhere along the chest tube.
The fluidic seal connects the suction regulator in fluid communication with the container's body fluid collection chamber. A typical collection chamber comprises a series of sub-compartments that collect drained body fluids in a cascading manner from one sub-compartment to the next. Graduated windows on the container can provide means for measuring the volume of collected fluid.
Chest drainage containers work well when used properly. Sometimes, however, a chest drainage container can be accidentally tipped over. To address this problem, many Teleflex chest drainage containers have hangers for securing the container to a bed frame or other stable structure. To allow the option of setting the container on the floor, many Teleflex containers also have a swing-out leg that can be deployed to help stabilize the container in an upright, standing position.